Our Lady of the Rosary

Feast Day

On November 17, 2013, Pope Francis gave some sage medical advice to the thousands in attendance at the Vatican, “I want to recommend some medicine for all of you.” Holding up a box that looked like a prescription packet of pills, he urged the people, “Don’t forget to take it,” he said. “It’s good for your heart, for your soul, for your whole life.” What was it? It was a box containing rosary beads and is what the pope described as being, “spiritual medicine.”

October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary.

This simple string of 58 beads joined together with a cross has been the weapon of choice of many saints, popes, and religious figures in the fight against sin, temptation, war, and evil. Pope Francis gave some examples of when the “medicine” should be taken: “When we want sinners to convert, when we feel we need help in making a difficult decision, or when we do not feel strong enough to resist temptation, when we are not able to forgive someone or we want to ask for mercy for a dying person.”